Timothy Kaufman, aged 37, a former US Marine, was found unconscious inside his jail cell in Angeles City on August 15.
Kaufman was declared dead upon arrival at hospital. He had been taking medication for severe hypertension. Kaufman had filed a motion with the court to be transferred to hospital confinement due to his ongoing health issues.
The former marine was one of three men, including a Filpino and another American in the murder of David Balmer, a former Irish police officer – as well as killing Balmer’s girlfriend, Elma de Guia in September 2011.
Jesus Santos, the Filipino in the murder had been arrested long ago – the other American, Joseph Tramontano, is still at large and being hunted by authorities.
Kaufman was arrested in April of 2013 near his grandfather’s upstate New York home, he is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee – he was extradited back to the Philippines in November of 2014 for the double murder, he has denied any involvement in the killing of the two.
The crime involved 54-year-old David Balmer and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Elma de Guia – both were found shot to death in their bedroom, in all 18 bullets were found at the scene of the crime.
Kaufman was positively identified by security guards and by surveillance video as one of the three men in a vehicle that entered the subdivision on the night of the killings.
Court papers filed in Kaufman’s extradition case allege that after the killings, he asked his maid to burn the contents of a garbage bag that included shoes and clothes worn by Kaufman and Tramontano.
Kaufman also told his maid to bury something. He then handed her a towel with two guns wrapped up inside.
The maid did not do as Kaufman asked, and turned the guns over to police who then determined they were used in the killing of the Irishman and Filipina.
Clothes which were recovered from the maid had blood splatter marks – the killings were said to be drug related.
Kaufman took flight from the Philippines and returned to the United States a month after the killings – soon after he was identified as a main suspect in the case.